](http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/)Located 25 miles north of Manhattan, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture contains an 80-acre farm that has (among other staffers) a four-season field foreman, a livestock manager, and a farm manager just for vegetables

](http://www.blackberryfarm.com/)Meals made from Blackberry Farm's bounty--produce from the garden, wildflower honey, farm-fresh eggs, and artisan cheeses--are served at the Barn by executive chef Joseph Lenn

The farm-to-table movement is nothing new, but for a handful of restaurants, the distance between farm and table is shrinking almost to zero. Not content simply to grow mint and dill in a 2x2 plot out back (some restaurants' idea of a "farm"), they're sourcing everything they served from their own land, complete with full-time on-site farm staff.

The latest is one of our favorite Nashville restaurants, the Capitol Grille at the Hermitage Hotel, which today announced the purchase of a 245-acre farm outside of the city. Called Double H Farms, it's being used to create a sustainable brand of beef that will be sold just not at the Capitol Grille but also to restaurants throughout Tennessee and beyond. At the time I visited with executive chefTyler Brown, he was experimenting with raising cattle on land leased from the Land Trust for Tennessee's Farm at Glen Leven. At the new farm, he'll focus on increasing his herd of grass-fed cattle with the help ofGreg Sligh, managing director of the hotel (and now president of Double H Farms LLC). They hope to grow corn for a future grist mill, too, that will help expand the gardening program. In short, this team is going above and beyond--this is where farm-to-table actually means something.

And they're not the only ones. Here's a list of some of our favorite restaurants that have good old-fashioned FARMS--no PR ploys involved.